This one will never be a 5-star show, short of some crispy soundboard miracle, but this version is far and away the best you'll ever hear....was always put off by this second Waterbury show due to my infatuation with the first night and this one's generally muddy overall quality, a setlist that repeats a *lot* of the previous night's tunes, and numerous board holes (here patched, and THANK YOU SO MUCH for the effort!!!)
On the plus side is, and I'll say it, some of the best Dead music of '72 - the first set doesn't really start going until that Bird Song...Big River continues in that funky way they initiated so amazingly the night before (was the opener), and Playin' - I mean, my god - this show might remind you of listening to
3:00 in the morning AM radio, but I'm telling you, this thing is an absolute beast.
And there's that Dark Star - I've seen, on some of the reviews for the other board, words like "best of all time", "top ten", etc. bantered about, and I absolutely see where everyone's coming from - no words necessary - just plug into this thing - with the drums and a pretty wild jazz jam dropping so....ever....perfectly into China Cat - this is indeed one of the best jams from the era.
So yeah, a mixed bag, but the goodies are so freaking great it makes this one absolutely a must-hear.